Swimming appliance



Dec. v v w. B. 'HOBERT, JR

SWIMMING APPLIANCE- Filed Dec. 15. 1921 2 sheets-sheet 1 Wes, Z5 1923.

w. B. HOBERT, JR

SWIMMING APPLIANCE 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 15,

lllllIilllllllll HoJo H J Patented Dec. 25, 1923.

Y UNITED STATES wmcEsLAs B. Roseanne, or JACKSON, M SSISSIPPI.

swrmume APPLIANCE.

Application filed eats 15,1921; Serial no. 522,599.

To all whom it man] concern:

Be itkn'own that I, WINOESLAS B. HOBERT, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Hinds and State of Mississippi, have invented certain newand'useful Improvements in Swimming Appliances, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to swimming appliances and has as its general object to provide a device which may be readily and conveniently applied to the person and worn with comfort and which, while inconspicuous will serve efi'ectually to buoy the wearer in the Water for an indefinite period of time.

One of the most specific objects of the invention is to so construct the device that the same will be proof against leakage of air with which it is inflated and will not be liable to become distorted or displaced while in use.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the appliance that it will be effectually re-enforced without, however, the provision of any extraneous means for obtainin this result.

In t e accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the appliance in use,

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the appliance removed,

Figure 3 is a detail vertical front to rear sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, I

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

The appliance embodying the invention comprises a closed body WhlGll is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and which is preferably made of rubberized cloth or any similar material which is impervious to water and which possesses the required degree of strength, the material named, however, being found preferable for the purpose. The body 1 comprises walls 2 and 3 which are preferably of corresponding marginal contour and substantially rectangular, and these walls are cemented or otherwise :united to each other along their marginal portions as indicated by the numeral 4 so that the body is completely closed on all sides. Besides being mutually united at their marginal portions, the walls 2 and 3 of the bodyare united, by cementing or otherwise, along a vertical line parallel to the lateral edges of the body'and spaced midway between said edges, as indicated by the numeral 5. The line of union 5 therefore extends vertically of the body but it terminates short of the upper and lower edges 'of the said body so that as a consequence the body is divided into two laterally disposed air pockets 6 placed in communication with each other by passage ways 7 and 8 located res ectively at top and bottom of the body. 11 order that the body may be inflated when it is desired to use the appliance, a suitableinflating valve 9 is arranged in the wall 3 of the body above the'upper end of the seam 5 and it will be evident .that air introduced into the body by way of this valve will enter the passage way 7 and be distributed to the ocket 6, filling also the passage way 8.

bus both of the pockets are designed to be inflated by way of the single inflating valve 9 and while the pockets are in a sense separate from one another, they are suitably placed in communication with each other by way of the passage ways 7 and 8. Because of the provision of the vertical seam 5 at the middle of the body, the body is in a sense divided at its vertical middle so that it may be more readily flexed'and will thus more readily accommodate itself to'the move ments of the body when it is appliedthereto. In other words, the two halves of the body, so to speak, may have relative movement about the seam 5 but such movement would not be permitted to the same extent if the walls of the body were not'connected at the vertical middle thereof as by the, said seam.

The appliance is intended to beworn upon the chest, and in order that it may be se curely held in place when applied, adjustable straps 10 are connected each at one end to the body at one side thereof and near the upperand lower corners as indicated by the numeral 11, and these straps are provided with fastening elements 12 engageable with other fastening elements 13.which are secured upon flaps 14 provided at corresponding points at the opposite edge of the body. 'Itwill now be evident that when the device is inflated and applied to the body as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, it will serve eifectually as a means for buoying the person to whom it is applied and, being of material impervious to water, will sustain the person in the Water for an indefinite period of time;

It will be understood that While the appliance is intended primarily for use in swimming or as a life preserver, it may be put to various other uses such for example as a communication with each other, means whereby a1r may be mtroduced nto one of said pockets to 1'Ilfl&t8"b:()th'Sa1Cl pockets, a

' strap connected to one upper corner of the member and adapted to be passed about the body in a line immediately below thev arm s pits, means for connecting the strap to the opposite upper corner of the member, a strap connected to one side of the member above one lower corner thereof and in position to extend about the waist line, and meansgfor connecting the :last mentioned strap to the opposite side of themember at a correspondingly located point, the air pockets extending below the line of circumferential extent of the last mentionedstrap.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. Y r

WINCESLAS B. HOBERT, JR. [L 8.] 

